U.S. Supreme Court Leans to Cisco in Falun Gong Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared inclined to side with Cisco Systems in a long-running lawsuit accusing the technology company of aiding China's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners through customized surveillance tools. The justices heard oral arguments in Washington over whether the case can proceed under the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act.

Falun Gong members, represented by the Human Rights Law Foundation, filed the suit in 2011. They allege Cisco designed and implemented aspects of China's Golden Shield internet surveillance system, knowing it would enable authorities to identify, track, detain and torture believers. A federal judge dismissed the case in 2014 for insufficient ties to the United States. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived it in 2023, finding the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged Cisco provided essential technical assistance with awareness that abuses including torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings were likely.

Cisco contends neither the 1789 Alien Tort Statute, which allows certain foreign nationals to sue for international law violations in U.S. courts, nor the 1991 Torture Victim Protection...